Longtime Barefooted Farmington Soccer Coach Retires

Since retiring after 18 years of coaching Farmington youth soccer teams, Steve Glynn still joins the droves of people that flock to Tunxis Mead Park in our soccer town.

But this time it's as a parent on the sidelines when his 14-year-old is refereeing. 

"Sitting on the parent side of the field it's so funny how parents make comments that are so wrong and they don't know the rules or it's okay that their kids are pushing but when their kids get pushed they are all over the referee," Glynn said.

Glynn has coached 300 players through the Farmington Soccer Club, coaching one or two teams every fall and spring ranging from kindergarteners to eighth-graders. Three of them were his sons, now ages 14, 21 and 23. Now, his youngest son has graduated from the recreation program started high school, so Glynn is hanging up his coaching hat. 

He said he'll miss watching his players develop and grow "from when they were on my kindergarten team until they stopped playing at age 14."

His coaching style was perhaps as laid back as the fashion he was most known for  – shorts and bare feet no matter how cold it was.    

"We were a rec team. I wanted the kids to have fun," Glynn said. "I would tell the kids that when I yell to them during a game I was not yelling at them but to them. In the rec league each player has to play half the game. It's all about playing soccer and not just winning. I tried to let the kids play the best as they could with encouragement."

Farmington parent Nancy Swanson praised Glynn as a coach and good person.

"Steve Glynn was not only a talented coach with his skills training, but he showed fairness, kindness and sportsmanship to each and every player throughout his entire coaching career," Swanson wrote in an email to Patch. "There was never any screaming, yelling or rudeness displayed by him. His professionalism as well as his way of making soccer fun, is why so many of his players continued to pay the game in the Farmington School System, including my son, Eric Caracuzzi, who just finished playing in a U-23 league." 

Eighteen years of coaching holds a lot of memories. One of the most memorable moments was when Eric Caracuzzi scored against Burlington and pulled his shirt over his head in celebration of what was more than just any goal.

"We were playing Burlington and were up like 7-0," Glynn said. " I told them that they could only score with their head or left foot."

Another standout moment was when defender Conor Hogan scored from half field. Glynn said that the look on his face was priceless. And Hogan's response was, as well: "Coach, I didn't mean it."

Then there was the U-14 final when Logan Marks scored on three corner kicks in a row. 

Tunxis Mead has long been a gathering place in a town where most kids play soccer when they are younger. Glynn was there at the start of it all. 

He grew up in town and "went to one of the first meeting that Al Bell had for starting soccer in Farmington." He played for Bell, who started the soccer program, in summer leagues and then Jack Casper at Farmington High School. 

When Bell started a soccer exchange program with teams in Forfar, Scotland, his home country, Glynn was on the first Farmington team that traveled there to play. Farmington and Forfar alternate visiting each other's countries to play each other, with families from both towns hosting players in their homes.

"Soccer has come a long way from when I played," Glynn said. "I have enjoyed coaching kids that want to play soccer. I have players like Eric and Logan who now play in the under 23 who still play because they love the game. Farmington has always been a soccer town. Soccer has come a long way in Farmington since I played. Growing from two fields to now 10 fields and the skill level is much higher."

Glynn leaves his coaching post feeling honored and privileged "to watch and help these young people grow in a sport that I have cherished for many years."

He leaves his former players with this message: "Best wishes to everyone, your barefoot coach."